“She looks so peaceful,” my mother says. “Almost as if she’s happy.”
“I know. Despite what she’s been through, she’s still as tough as ever,” my father says.
“God, I’m so glad the police came quickly. My poor baby.” My mother sniffs.
“She needs her rest now, though.”
My mother caresses my cheek. “Sleep tight, honey.”
“You’ll need your rest for the coming days,” my father muses.
“The family is coming to see you when you’re all better,” my mother adds.
“Let’s just leave her to herself, shall we?” my father says. “Nothing we can do that the doctors can’t.”
“Right,” my mother says as they shuffle away. “She’ll be safe here.”
“Let’s get a cup of coffee and get back home.” They shuffle out of the room.
The moment the door closes, one of my eyes snaps open and I check my environment to make sure no one’s there before I sit up in the hospital bed. I pull all the electrodes from my body and slide out of bed. I check the door to see if someone’s coming, before reaching under my bed and pulling out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I tear off my gown and pull on the clothes that I stole from the nurse when she thought I was asleep. Then I silently make my way out of the room.
Every time someone enters or exits a door, I hide in a corner or hallway crevice until they’re gone, and then I make a run for it. I pass the room Paige is lying in, and for a second our eyes connect. Shit, I don’t want her to see me, let alone talk to me. Our interests no longer align because she was kept in my closet for days, so I keep running ahead. Once I get to the visitor’s section, I quickly spin on my ankles when I spot my parents sitting in a corner drinking some coffee. Instead, I open a safe-exit door and run down the stairs, all the way to the parking lot.
The car is already parked right in front of the road exit.
Just seeing the Jeep makes my heart beat faster.
Freedom.
I smile, knowing that the plan has succeeded.
My parents are oblivious. They think I’m still sick, tired, weak, and that’s exactly what I want them to think. They won’t find out that I’ve left until it’s too late, and they’ll never know where I’ve gone. I won’t ever tell them, either.
I walk toward the Jeep with pride and wanderlust coursing through my veins. I can already picture the trips I’m going to take, and the experiences I’ll have traveling the world. Everywhere a new name—incognito, just like in the movies.
My real life has become an acting job, and I refuse to look back. It’s way too sunny up ahead.
I feel like dancing, but instead, I run toward the Jeep as the door opens from the inside.
His lopsided smile, his chiseled, scruffy face, his tousled black hair and piercings make my heart flutter. And at the sound of his voice, I might have died and gone to heaven.
“Let’s go, Princess.”
“Phoenix, you came,” I say.
“Of course, I did.” He winks. “You didn’t think I’d leave you to rot in that hospital, did you? Besides, your parents would probably kill you if they found out what we’re doing.”
“I’d kill them first if they tried anything,” I say, hopping into the car.
“You sure you don’t want to go and kill them now?” he asks.
I actually have to think about that for a second. “Nah.”
I laugh and so does he, and I buckle up and close the door. In the rearview mirror, I see my own neck again, which has been a long time. The moment I touch it I feel so naked, damn … I never thought I’d miss something like that.
The hospital staff took it off when I was still in bed, but I have no clue how they did it.
“Look what souvenir I found in the trash,” Phoenix says.
I turn my head and a smile appears on my face the moment I see the collar. “I can’t believe you found it.”
“Well, it’s mine, and I’m not letting them throw it away,” he says, holding it up above my neck as we both look in the rearview mirror. “You know, I still think it looks good on you. What do you think?”
I blush. “I liked it more because it meant I was yours.”
He grins when he looks my way. “What do you say we get a new one then? Just for the fun of it?”
“What? You mean as a collar? For me?”
“Yeah,” he says, licking his lips. “Once my pet, always my pet. And I don’t just say that because I’m a kinky bastard. I just like it when you’re mine.”
I bite my lip. “Ah … hmmm … Maybe.” I’m seriously a bad liar now because I can’t seem to hide my enthusiasm, nor can he hide his. It’s written all over his face.
He presses a kiss to my cheek. “I know you love it when I say you’re mine.”
His comment makes me grin like a twelve-year-old. God, I feel young again when I’m around him.
“So, where’d you get this car?” I ask.
“Stole it.”
The way he says it, without any remorse whatsoever, makes me smile. He just doesn’t give a damn, and neither do I.
I’m already glad we both made a full recovery, and not just one of us. I don’t know how he succeeded in escaping the hospital before me, considering there were heavy guards on duty near his door, but I don’t think I want to know either.
“You didn’t kill them, did you?” I ask.
He turns his head toward me. “Who?”
“Anyone. I don’t care.”
He smirks. “Would you really mind?”
“Well, if they’re innocent.”
He shakes his head, laughing. “Do you really want me to say it?”
“Yes,” I say, putting on some shades I find on the dashboard.
“Fine, no innocents were killed in the grand escape of Phoenix Sullivan. Happy?”
My smile turns into a grin as he turns on the rumbling engine. “Couldn’t be happier.”
“Although, I can’t promise you that I didn’t knock them out to free myself.”
“Phoenix!” I gasp.
“What?” He shrugs. “You know me. Once a bad guy, always a bad guy.” He leans closer as he drives toward the hospital exit. “And you wouldn’t want it any other way.”
I smash my lips together to hide my upcoming smile, but I can’t because he’s too damn up in my face. “Fine, you’re right. I like it when you’re bad.”
“We’re one bad couple,” he muses, grinning. “But we’re so good when we’re bad together.”
“Can I stay bad forever?” I say, licking my lips.
He leans in while driving up the ramp. “I’d say the world hasn’t seen our worst yet. Let’s go cause some trouble.”
And then he presses a kiss to my lips, one that burns what’s left of the goodness of my heart, making me embrace my blackened soul. This is who we are; two people who destroyed each other and picked up the pieces by hand. He’s all mine, and I’m completely his. Our wretched love unites us, brings us closer together, and there’s nothing in the world that could make me feel the same way that Phoenix does.
For his love, I could die.
For my love, he would kill.
We’re bad, in the worst kind of way, but sometimes you need a little bad in your life … So bad, you realize life isn’t worth living without someone to be evil with.
